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  • 2019-03-27 (xsd:date)
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  • No, a retired Canadian prime minister is not paid $450,000 for life (en)
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  • A post shared tens of thousands of times claims Canadian politicians receive large salaries for life, contrasting that with the low average income of Canadian soldiers and pensioners. The figures are incorrect; while retired politicians qualify for pensions, they do not receive salaries for life. A Facebook post shared more than 32,000 times says a retired prime minister receives a salary of $450,000 for life. It adds that a retired politician, a speaker of the house and a majority or minority leader receive $174,000, $223,500 and $194,400 respectively. By contrast, the post says the average salary of a soldier is $40,000 a year and the average income of a pensioner is $12,000 a year. Screenshot taken on March 26, 2019 of a Facebook post These numbers are incorrect. For the 2018-2019 parliamentary session, all members of the House of Commons, the lower chamber of the Canadian parliament, receive a sessional allowance of Can$175,600 before taxes, as the parliament website shows . Salaries are subject to change on April 1, 2019. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau receives an additional Can$175,600, for a total salary of Can$351,200. The Speaker of the House, Geoff Reagan , is entitled to an additional Can$84,000, which makes his total salary Can$259,600. Canada’s parliament does not have the title of Majority or Minority Leader as is found in the US Congress. However, if by majority leader, the post is referring to the leader of the party with a majority of seats in the House of Commons, then that is Prime Minister Trudeau. If minority leader means Leader of the Official Opposition, a position held by the Conservative Party’s Andrew Scheer , then the additional salary would be Can$84,000, bringing Scheer’s total salary to Cad$259,000. The chart below provides a detailed list of the salaries for leadership roles in the House of Commons. The full salary list can be viewed here . Screenshot taken on March 26, 2019 of the Parliament of Canada website Heather Bradley, director of communications for the House of Commons told AFP in an email, no member is granted a salary for life, but they are eligible for pensions regulated under the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act . Canadians and politicians have taken issue with and worked to reform the parliamentary pension plan, but it is misleading to say retired politicians receive a full salary for life. Members of the House of Commons are entitled to full pensions at age 65, or to a reduced pension starting at age 55. A prime minister who served for four or more years is entitled to a special retirement allowance starting at age 67, in addition to their pension as a member of parliament. The allowance is calculated using the formula explained below. Screenshot of the Parliament of Canada website taken on March 27, 2019 Since January 1, 2013, members of parliament have gradually contributed more of their salaries to the pension fund, according to this Canadian government website . Contributions reached a combined rate of 19.52 percent of pay as of January 1, 2019. Soldiers and pensioners According to the Department of National Defence , basic pay for an officer cadet in the Canadian army starts at Can$1,667 a month, which is just above Can$20,000 a year. At the top of the Army’s hierarchy, a lieutenant-general’s salary starts at Can$20,683 per month or Can$248,196 per year. In 2017, the median income for seniors after taxes was Can$27,500. Screenshot taken on March 26, 2019 of the Statistic Canada website (en)
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